Future plans include the development of a packhouse at the site to serve massive operation.
A coastal dairy farm in the Ashburton district is transitioning into an orchard, setting a new benchmark for large scale horticulture in New Zealand.
It will also mark the first commercial scale operation of the new apple variety Joli in Canterbury.
The Torea orchard development is fully owned by the NZ Super Fund (NZSF) and managed by rural investment management company FarmRight, which has managed NZSF’s horticulture and dairy assets since 2010.
FarmRight owns the orchard and will manage all growing and harvesting activities.
FarmRight’s general manager or the NZSF rural portfolio, Ed Tapp, said the company has considerable experience in managing apple orchards and the teams involved in the activities on the properties.
The 460 hectare seaside farm, formerly running up to 1200 dairy cows, currently has 250ha undergoing staged conversion to a large-scale apple orchard while the remaining land will continue as a dairy operation.
The initial phase involves planting 125ha of Rockit apples and 25ha of Joli.
Launched in 2023, Joli is T&G’s newest global premium apple. T&G partnered with FarmRight to license their growing in Canterbury.
The first 150ha of trees will start going in the ground at the end of June, with planting of the remaining 100ha of Joli scheduled for early 2026.
By October 2026, 900,000 trees, in a mix of Joli and Rockit, will be in the ground set to produce 116 million apples, 72,500 bins of fruit a year.
Initially the apples will go to Nelson for grading and packing but future plans include the development of a packhouse at the Ashburton site.
Accommodation facilities will be built near the site for picking and pruning workers brought into the region.
Orchard manager Matt Bentley said about 60 staff are currently working on the structural work with further staff recruitment underway.
“We need another 70-85, a total 150 once we start planting in a couple of weeks and over the picking period up to 450 people will be employed; during thinning and pruning we’ll need about 150.”
Tapp said FarmRight will be looking to create synergies with other local seasonal workforces to help extend periods of work for people.
FarmRight chief operating office Gavin Tayles said extensive research identified the latitude of Mid Canterbury as a suitable location for growing apples using modern, trellised growing systems that will incorporate canopies for frost and hail protection.
“With its climatic conditions, temperature, reliable irrigation, soil types and land suitable for development at scale, Canterbury came up strong for these apple varieties.
“But you are not going to see apples all over Canterbury.”
An added benefit to the development is the reduced environmental impact with modelled reductions in annual carbon emission of 81%, nitrogen loss reductions of 82% and irrigation water use reductions of 40%.
T&G chief operating officer apples Shane Kingston said the agreement to expand the growing of Joli into Canterbury reflects both companies’ shared growth strategies.
“At T&G we have built an exceptional global apples business, underpinned by the world’s best varieties and an end-to-end world-class system, focused on meeting growing consumer demand for our premium global apple brands.”
For consumers, Joli is a vibrant large red apple, bursting with juiciness and sweetness.
“This is a flavour profile that consumers across Asia are actively seeking out, and we have customers and consumers eagerly awaiting the first commercial Joli fruit in 2027.”
Both the Joli and Rockit apples at Torea Orchard are licensed and destined for the export market, Rockit predominately to Asia and US markets while Joli’s first key market will be Asia.
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